A computer network is a collection of interconnected computing devices that exchange data and share resources. In a packet-based network, such as the Internet, the computing devices communicate data by dividing the data into small blocks called packets. The packets are individually routed across the network from a source device to a destination device. The destination device extracts the data from the packets and assembles the data into its original form. Dividing the data into packets enables the source device to resend only those individual packets that may be lost during transmission.
Devices within the network, often referred to as routers, maintain tables of routing information that describe available routes through the network. Each route defines a path between two locations on the network. Upon receiving an incoming data packet, the router examines header information within the packet to identify the destination for the packet. Based on the header information, the router accesses the routing table, selects an appropriate route for the packet and forwards the packet accordingly.
A router management interface provides access to software modules and other resources residing on the router. In particular, the router management interface permits various entities, such as human users and automated scripts, to configure the router and obtain operational information. Using the router management interface, the entities can make changes to the present router configuration and more efficiently manage router resources, policies and relationships with other routers. In addition, the router management interface provides access to a variety of information relating to router configuration, protocols, firewalls, interfaces, router chassis inventory, system parameters, routing policies, forwarding options, network flow statistics, error logs, and performance metrics.